Long-Range Plan

In 1999, the Retail Packaging Association undertook a critical strategic planning process to update its strategic long-range direction.
This is that direction...

Table of Contents:

• Overview
• Strategic Assumptions
• Core Membership
• Definition of Strategic Planning Terms
• Principles of Visioning Process
• Mission Statement
• Long-Range Goals
• Long-Range Goals and Strategies

Overview

In 1995, a Strategic Planning Group (SPG) made up of the Board, staff, and volunteer members of the Retail Packaging Association met to develop a long-range strategic plan. Bud Crouch, president of Innovations Plus and senior partner with Tecker Consultants led the group in the planning process. In 1997 and 1999, the Board and staff met again to update the plan and develop new strategies and milestones.

This new strategic plan will successfully guide RPA into the 21st century. In the construction and revision of this plan, the Board completed the following activities and competencies.

The planning process consisted of the actual development of the strategic plan. This strategic plan builds on RPA's successful history to this point, and identifies the strategic areas where it should focus over the next five years in order to continue its excellence and success. To develop this plan, the planning group completed the following activities and competencies.

• A long-range vision was developed to identify where the group would like RPA to be in the year 2002 (best case). The vision identified how RPA will function in the form of beneficial outcomes, and how it will impact the retail packing industry, the association itself, and its membership.
• Common themes from the group's individual visions were developed into three long-range goal statements that form the core of the strategic plan. These goals are outcome oriented, meaning that they are not a description of what RPA will do, but statements of how the world, the industry, and its members will be different because of RPA's efforts. For example, one of the plan's goals states: RPA will be members' primary resource for retail packaging industry information, education and services.
• The vision was also utilized to develop a new mission statement that defines RPA's fundamental reason for the existence or purpose.
• Strategies for each goal statement were developed which define how RPA will organize and focus its resources and actions in order to maximize its effectiveness and efficiency in achieving each goal. The strategies define how RPA will commit its limited resources to make its vision (goals) a reality. RPA cannot be all things to all people. Strategies bring focus to RPA's annual, operational allocation of discretionary resources.

This strategic plan builds on RPA's successful history to this point, and identifies the strategic areas where it should focus over the next four to five years in order to continue its excellence and success. Not-for-profit organizations now are finding it necessary to update the strategic plan on a more frequent basis (approximately every 48 to 60 months).

A strategic plan is not intended as a substitute for an annual program or operation plan. It does not detail all the current and on-going initiatives, programs, and activities RPA will undertake in the course of serving its membership and their profession. What makes the strategic plan strategic, is that it identifies what RPA is not doing today, but must be doing in the future to be successful. It focuses on change &endash; not on maintaining or continuing current activities.

The strategic plan represents a compass that the association will use to guide its work over the next four to five years. Each year of its life, the strategies will need to be updated based on experience and new circumstances. The mission and goals should also be reviewed.

In 2003, RPA will need to recast a new strategic plan to the year 2008.

Strategic Assumptions
 
The Board identified the external trends, challenges and issues that they believe will impact the retail packaging industry in the future &endash; the future environment of RPA members. These trends may represent opportunities or threats &endash; and sometimes both to the association.

The future, external trends, challenges, or issues:

• The rapid acquisitions and consolidation of manufacturers, distributors, and end users which includes the disappearance of some distributors, manufacturers and end users.
• Technology has created the opportunity for the consumer to shop on-line which has impacted retail packaging.
• End users want to buy direct, receive great service, and at the lowest cost.
• Non-national distributors are expanding their operations and crossing traditional boundaries.
• The retail packaging manufacturing industry is changing:
  • the market is not growing as it has in the past;
  • more end users are shifting towards buying more custom packaging;
  • there is a need to find more year round products &endash; the majority of the sales come during the Christmas season.
• There are more catalog promotions and sales.
• There is increasing competition from foreign sources.
• There is more national distribution.
• There are many players in the domestic market creating a proliferation of competition within the market.
• Manufacturers need to have a better understanding of the changing retail market (the end users and what they want and current market trends).

The Planning group also identified the current internal areas where they believe RPA must change in order to: 1) better serve its members; and 2) successfully move the association into the future.

The current internal areas needing change in the future:

• RPA needs to:
  • improve its internal communication to its members, especially in the marketing/operating form of perceived personal benefits - the value added benefits the association brings to members. Benefits attract potential members to join and perceived benefits help to retain existing members.
  • advance and grow the association to meeting the increasingly complex needs of its membership &endash; remain relevant to its members.
  • clearly identify and serve its core members.
  • develop a volunteer infrastructure (a committee system) to provide the Board with a volunteer work structure.

Finally, the group identified key opportunities where they believe members can be better served.

• RPA has the opportunity to:
  • become members prime source for retail packaging and manufacturing information.
  • develop an industry database of information about the retail packing industry.
  • move beyond just sponsoring a tremendous annual meeting and trade show.

Core Membership
 
Future core membership is defined as a group of members who must directly or indirectly benefit from all of RPA's products, programs, services, publications and activities. Programs and services may also meet the needs of other members and non-members. However, they must first meet the future core members' needs.

Current (1997):
The Characteristics of RPAís current core members were identified as packaging manufacturers having a:

• retail focus, and
• booth at the RPA Trade Show. 

Future (2004):
The Characteristics of RPA's future core members will be identified as packaging manufacturers having a/an:

• retail focus.
• booth at the RPA Trade Show; and
• interest in advancing the retail packaging industry.

Definition Of Strategic Planning Terms

Mission Statement
A precise, concise and inspiring statement declaration of the fundamental purpose for which the organization exists. Who are we and what is supposed to happen for whom as a result of what we do?
 
Goal
A timeless, unbounded statement that describes the condition or attribute that we seek to attain.
 
Key Indicators
Measurable, attainable milestones that we want to achieve by a specific point in time on the way to accomplishing the goal.
 
Strategies
How we will organize and focus our resources and actions to maximize our effectiveness and efficiency in achieving our goals.
 
Program
A product or service (or set of products and services) that are provided or delivered to a specific group.
 
Key Activity/ Action Planning
A specific action to be taken on an annual basis in response to the environment in order to achieve the strategy. Action plans define how a strategy will be implemented and make progress towards the goal. 

Principles of visioning Process 

• A vision is a simple and concise picture of an ideal desired future for the organization. The visioning process is the leadership team coming to consensus concerning what future success will look like for the organization.
• When people embrace the vision, they will own it and it will tend to be self implementing.
• By engaging in a visioning process, the organization is already beginning to create its own future.
• The visioning process sets direction and helps to focus the strategic planning efforts of the organization and thus should be developed first. ]
• The process of developing the vision is as important as the direction itself.
• The vision must be created by the planning team.
• Visions do not supplant strategic plans, they come before them. The vision sets the tone and direction for the strategic planning process.
  
  Visioning --> Strategic Planning --> Yearly Plans

Mission Statement

A mission statement is a concise and inspiring description of the fundamental purpose for which RPA exists as it pursues its new vision (goal statements). The mission statements should answer the following questions: 1) Why do we exist?, 2) Who do we exist for?, 3) What is supposed to happen for whom as a result of what we do?

The Retail Packaging Association serves its members by advancing the retail packaging industry through educational programs, services and forums.

Long-Range Goals

The following represents RPA's long-range goals for the next five years which encompass RPA's vision, and determines the direction it will pursue. These three goals are outcome oriented statements that represent what will constitute RPA's future success. The achievement of each goal will move the association toward the realization of its vision.

The goals are not in any order of priority. All of the goals will need to be accomplished, if RPA is to fully achieve its vision.

In 2003:

Goal A: RPA will be known for its premier annual industry convention and trade show.

Goal B: RPA will be financially secure and stable.

Goal C: RPA will be members' primary resource for retail packaging industry information, education and services.

Long-Range Goals & Strategies
 
Strategies indicate how RPA will organize, focus and expend its resources and actions to maximize its effectiveness and efficiency in achieving the goals.

Milestones are used to determine the overall progress towards that goal. They indicate how close RPA is to achieving a goal as it executes the individual strategies for each goal. Milestones measure goal achievement, not strategy achievement.

Goal A: RPA will be known for its premier annual industry convention and trade show.

Milestones:

• An increase in the number of:
  • booth spaces sold;
  • non-manufacturer attendees;
  • total attendees;
  • retained earnings of the trade show;
  • new products shown;
  • new educational programs; and
  • participant feedback on the show.

Strategies:

1. Develop a marketing plan to increase the number of attendees at the convention. 
2.  Develop a booth-marketing plan for RPA to communicate information about the association and its new, strategic mission and plan, as well as to communicate to exhibitors.
3. Maintain a parallel seminar committee for annual meetings, seminars/speaker management.
4. Continue to obtain feedback from stakeholders regarding both the annual meeting seminars and convention (walk the show floor).
5. Research and review other successful trade associations and websites to obtain new ideas.
6. Develop a database to measure success of the trade show.

Goal B: RPA will be financially secure and stable.

Milestones:

• An increase in the contingency fund to $250,000 and/or retain insurance to meet needs of an emergency or disaster.